I am obsessed with discovering new food products with great nutritionals in the grocery store. It's been this way for about the past five years; I am constantly on the lookout for tasty things with low stats. I drive one of my health-conscious work friend nuts by perpetually checking out her goods at the lunch table: "What is that? Is it good? How many calories? Did you find that at Dillon's or Wal-Mart? (Those are pretty much the only places to buy food here.) Does it say how many Weight Watchers points? How much fiber? Are you going to buy it again? Is it better than that other brand?" and on and on. I love keeping track of how many calories and fat grams I eat, and I definitely see the importance in following the food pyramid (although can't we all agree that they give us way too many servings of carbs?).

So you can imagine my mortification at the fact that Ruby, my daughter, will eat from only two food groups: fruit, and CHEESE. Her day goes a little something like this: Breakfast = string cheese; Lunch = Macaroni and cheese; snack = Gerber cheese puffs; and Dinner = cheese pizza. Throw in some apple sauce or grapes every now and then. Now, I am aware that I am not supposed to restrict my toddler's fat content, but can it be healthy to eat that much CHEESE? Ruby refuses to eat vegetables or meat. I've tried hiding them, shoving them down her throat, bribing, and begging. She will throw them as hard as she can on the floor and scream in delight as her partner in crime, AKA the devil dog, Kiki, gleefully gobbles down every last morsel. I believe she will get to an age where I will give her the ol' "It's this or nothing" ultimatum, but since she was born at roughly 3.5 lbs., I want to make sure she stays at a healthy weight.

I used to think my husband was a picky eater. He doesn't really eat anything green, and if I even try to sneak a mushroom or black olive into a dinner dish, I am in major trouble. I always said, "I am going to make my kids eat everything on their plates." I sure didn't want to raise a picky eater. Apparently, though, what I am learning is that picky eaters may not be raised. Perhaps they are born. We are going to find out, folks, because as soon as Ruby understands if/then statements, she's going to be eating broccoli. I'll let you know how that goes.

Right now, she's just lucky she looks so darn cute with cheese sauce all over her face.